Female Candidate Battles Machismo In Mexico

Josefina Vazquez Mota celebrates her selection as the presidential candidate of the National Action Party in Mexico City on Feb. 5. She's the first woman to run for president in Mexico on a major party ticket.

Alfredo Estrella
/ AFP/Getty Images

Listen

Listening...

/

Originally published on February 21, 2012 11:15 am

Earlier this month, the National Action Party of Mexico nominated the country's first ever female presidential candidate, economist Josefina Vazquez Mota. As Vazquez Mota accepted the nomination, she vowed to be the first woman to become the Mexican head of state.

The PAN, as the conservative party is known in Spanish, is Mexico's current ruling party. It has also put forth a woman, Isabel Miranda de Wallace, in Mexico City's mayoral race. Both elections take place on July 1.

The 51-year-old Vazquez Mota is a trained economist, devout Catholic and mother of three girls. She jumped onto the national stage in 2000 when then-President Vicente Fox appointed her as the first female secretary of social development. Later she served as education minister for President Felipe Calderon.

Current polls show Vazquez Mota in second place, behind the former governor of Mexico state, Enrique Pena Nieto. Pena Nieto is on the ballot for the center-left Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI. The PRI ruled Mexico for much of the 20th century — a reign called "the perfect dictatorship" — but lost its grip in the 2000 elections. On the left is Andres Manual Lopez Obrador, the 2006 runner-up to Calderon.

On the campaign trail, Vazquez Mota embraces that she's a woman and mother, though she avoids marketing herself as a candidate specifically for women. Earlier this month, her rival Pena Nieto said he didn't know the price of tortillas because he was not "the woman of the house." Vazquez Mota's response? She has raised children and kept the fridge stocked, she says — all while running the federal social services agency.

Jose Antonio Crespo, a political analyst in Mexico City, was surprised when the PAN elected a woman as its lead candidate. Because the PAN is a conservative party, he says, people thought it wouldn't nominate a woman. Machismo is still an issue in Mexico, and some polls show that there are some Mexicans who refuse to vote for a female leader. But it's a small part of the electorate, says Crespo, and Vazquez Mota's nomination clearly demonstrates willingness to embrace a woman.

Crespo says Vazquez Mota's biggest problem is that her policies are similar to those of the past two PAN presidents. She has pledged to continue Calderon's deadly offensive against Mexican drug cartels, and she also says uncovering corruption and government impunity would be top priorities for her administration.

That's a line the PAN has repeated as it has been in power for the past 12 years. But Crespo says there's a perception that the PAN governments haven't accomplished anything. Vazquez Mota's biggest challenge isn't getting Mexicans to vote for a woman, Crespo says. It's getting Mexicans to believe she can solve the huge problems facing the country.

It's WEEKENDS on ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Mary Louise Kelly.

For the first time ever in Mexico, a major political party has put forward a female candidate for president. The ruling party, the National Action Party, or PAN as it's known in Spanish, has picked Josefina Vazquez Mota as its representative in the July 1st presidential election. NPR's Jason Beaubien reports from Mexico City.

GUSTAVO MADERO: (Foreign language spoken)

JASON BEAUBIEN, BYLINE: At the National Action Party's convention earlier this month, Gustavo Madero, the head of the party, said that PAN has always been the party with the most female candidates. And this year, it will make history.

MADERO: Josefina Vazquez Mota (foreign language spoken).

(SOUNDBITE OF CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

BEAUBIEN: The PAN is running two women for two of the most important political races in Mexico: Josefina Vazquez Mota as the party's candidate for president and Isabel Miranda de Wallace for the mayor of Mexico City. Accepting the nomination, Vazquez Mota vowed she would become Mexico's first female head of state.

JOSEFINA VAZQUEZ MOTA: (Foreign language spoken)

(SOUNDBITE OF CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

KELLY: The 51-year-old Vazquez Mota is a trained economist, a devout Catholic and a mother of three girls. She jumped onto the national stage in the year 2000 when President Vicente Fox appointed her as the first female secretary of Social Development. Later, she served as education minister for President Felipe Calderon. Current polls show Vazquez Mota placed second in this race.

BEAUBIEN: The former governor of Mexico state, Enrique Pena Nieto, is leading in the polls. Pena Nieto is on the ballot for the Institutional Revolutionary Party or PRI. The PRI ruled Mexico for much of the 20th century in what was dubbed the perfect dictatorship. The political left this year is represented by Andres Manual Lopez Obrador, who narrowly lost the 2006 election to Calderon.

On the campaign trail, Vazquez Mota embraces that she's a woman and a mother without marketing herself as a candidate specifically for women. When her rival Pena Nieto said he didn't know the price of tortillas because he's not, quote, "the woman of the house," Vazquez Mota's pounced on the comment. She noted that she's raised children, kept the fridge stocked, and run the federal social services agency.

Jose Antonio Crespo, a political analyst here, says many people didn't think the PAN was ready to elect a woman as its lead candidate.

JOSE ANTONIO CRESPO: (Foreign language spoken)

BEAUBIEN: Because the PAN is a conservative party, Crespo says, people thought they wouldn't vote for a woman. But he says Vazquez Mota's candidacy shows that this isn't true. Machismo is still an issue in Mexico, and some surveys have shown that there are some Mexicans who'd never vote for a female leader. But Crespo says this is a relatively small part of the electorate.

The bigger problem for Vazquez Mota, he says, is that she's attached to the current ruling party, and her policies follow in the footsteps of the last two PAN presidents. She's pledged to continue Calderon's deadly offensive against the Mexican drug cartels. She also says rooting out corruption and government impunity would be top priorities in her administration. But over the last 12 years, the PAN has repeatedly said that it's the party to deal with drug violence, unemployment and corruption.

CRESPO: (Foreign language spoken)

BEAUBIEN: The last two governments have been PAN, and Crespo says the perception is they haven't accomplished anything. He says Vazquez Mota's biggest challenge isn't getting Mexicans to vote for a woman, it's getting Mexicans to believe she can solve the huge problems facing the country. Jason Beaubien, NPR News, Mexico City. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.